NBA Chatter Thread

The only team I could see giving the all time Lakers a run is the all-time Celtics.

Sixers actually might too, now that I think about it. Wilt, Dr J, Moses, Iverson, Barkley... that's pretty good.

Clay_Allison said:

Don't forget the Lakers have Jerry West coming off the bench.

Click to expand...

And Wilt apparently...

Clay_Allison said:

Don't forget the Lakers have Jerry West coming off the bench.

Click to expand...

Yeah, Worthy too. The Lakers bench is huge. Horace Grant wouldn't even make the Lakers roster. Much less be a starter

Zach Lowe @ZachLowe_NBA
One more tidbit: Sources say Lawson has agreed as condition of trade to make the final year of his contract -- 2016-17 -- non-guaranteed.

Click to expand...

Wow, this just keeps getting better.

The Lakers all-time team would probably win but Shaq is a straight up idiot and so is anybody who thinks Horace f'ing Grant would start at center.

Ever heard of a guy named Artis Gilmore?

7 foot HOF center from the 70's/80's, 13 seasons averaging a double double.

Hell, Joakim Noah would start at center over Grant who never played center.

Obviously beating a team with Magic, Shaq, Kobe and Kareem is a ridiculous task, but a team with Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and a HOF center in Gilmore could certainly give it a run, especially with another defensive minded big in Noah coming off the bench.

The Lawson trade is a really good gamble on Houston's part, it may not turn out but sometimes you have to make moves like this where you gamble on a guy's upside in order to push you to the next level.

Simpleton said:

The Lakers all-time team would probably win but Shaq is a straight up idiot and so is anybody who thinks Horace f'ing Grant would start at center.

Ever heard of a guy named Artis Gilmore?

7 foot HOF center from the 70's/80's, 13 seasons averaging a double double.

Hell, Joakim Noah would start at center over Grant who never played center.

Obviously beating a team with Magic, Shaq, Kobe and Kareem is a ridiculous task, but a team with Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and a HOF center in Gilmore could certainly give it a run, especially with another defensive minded big in Noah coming off the bench.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I just ignored the people in the pictures especially when Wilt is not shown for the Lakers as well.

Simpleton said:

The Lawson trade is a really good gamble on Houston's part, it may not turn out but sometimes you have to make moves like this where you gamble on a guy's upside in order to push you to the next level.

Click to expand...

Just a decent player on bad teams.

Seriously though he is just a perfect fit, it was a miracle we played as well as we did with all of the turnovers and I love what Smith did for us but you cannot go far with him being the second highest guy in usage rate.

dallen said:

Yeah, Worthy too. The Lakers bench is huge. Horace Grant wouldn't even make the Lakers roster. Much less be a starter

Click to expand...

The All-Spurs team would beat the All Chicago team.

Can't format it right to post here, but there is some funny stuff in here. Instagram "battle" between Shaq and Pippen over Shaq's claims.

Clay_Allison said:

The All-Spurs team would beat the All Chicago team.

Click to expand...

A bullshit Bulls team like the one Shaq posted, sure, not the real one.

Clay_Allison said:

The All-Spurs team would beat the All Chicago team.

Click to expand...

Who is your top 8?

Jiggyfly said:

Who is your top 8?

Click to expand...

I'm sure it's basically the core of the current team+David Robinson and George Gervin.

An excellent team for sure, but that doesn't beat a team with Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and Gilmore, along with Rose. It's all kind of nonsensical though because everybody is going to look at it differently. Do you judge the players based off just a prime season or two or their entire body of work?

How about a guy like Rodman who played for the Spurs and Bulls? Do you take only his Spurs work into account if you include him on the Spurs, or his entire body of work? Do you take just his prime year with the Bulls if you include him on the Bulls or his whole body of work?

Pretty pointless exercise all in all but whatever.

Simpleton said:

I'm sure it's basically the core of the current team+David Robinson and George Gervin.

An excellent team for sure, but that doesn't beat a team with Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and Gilmore, along with Rose. It's all kind of nonsensical though because everybody is going to look at it differently. Do you judge the players based off just a prime season or two or their entire body of work?

How about a guy like Rodman who played for the Spurs and Bulls? Do you take only his Spurs work into account if you include him on the Spurs, or his entire body of work? Do you take just his prime year with the Bulls if you include him on the Bulls or his whole body of work?

Pretty pointless exercise all in all but whatever.

Click to expand...

I agree just wanted to see who he listed.

Also Gilmore could be listed on both squads.

But for this exercise I would have to look at players who spent there prime years with a team at least 3 years.

I think the Rockets, Spurs and Clippers all surpassed the Warriors this off-season. The West is going to be fantastic next year.

I like the Clippers going into the season, I think that everything that happened to them in the playoffs and offseason will galvanize that team.

And I think they are deeper this year.

But they have some wildcards on that team and things could get rocky.

The Clippers do have talent, but that is a group of players that could eat each other if things don't go well.

Carp said:

The Clippers do have talent, but that is a group of players that could eat each other if things don't go well.

Click to expand...

I agree.

The Rockets beating them was entirely a fluke, if they use that as fuel they could be scary.

Jiggyfly said:

I agree.

The Rockets beating them was entirely a fluke, if they use that as fuel they could be scary.

Click to expand...

Pierce is not a star anymore, but he will be relegated to the 6th or 7th option. Jordan wants to be more involved in the offense...so he still shots from who? They don't have enough basketballs there...there is going to be a log jam with Stephenson, Pierce, Wes Johnson, Crawford, Reddick, and Rivers. Doc can handle personalities, but this will be a challenge.

NBA leans toward not guaranteeing playoff spot for division champion

ESPN.com news services

NEWARK, N.J. -- A division title might soon mean a banner but no assurance of a playoff spot in the NBA.

Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday the league is leaning toward not guaranteeing a postseason berth to a team that wins its division, forcing clubs to finish in the top eight of their conference if they want a shot at the title.

Silver had already said he expected a change from the current format that guarantees division winners no worse than the No. 4 seed. But after discussions with both the competition committee and board of governors, he believes the change will go further than that.

"First of all, it's never happened before that a division winner did not finish within the top eight, and our basketball analytics folks calculate that there's less than a 5 percent chance that it would happen," he said before taking part in a panel discussion at the Beyond Sport United program.

"Where we are leaning right now is that we would not guarantee a spot for a division winner in part because it's so unlikely to happen, and No. 2 if it does happen it would be potentially confusing to fans. No. 3, you would be displacing a team that did have a top-eight record."

Portland got the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference last season by winning the Northwest Division, but the Trail Blazers would have been seeded sixth by win-loss record.

As a result, the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs, two teams vying for the second seed on the last night of the season, met in the first round of the playoffs.

That sparked new calls to throw out the protection for division winners, and Silver said after the owners' annual summer meeting in Las Vegas that change was coming, though they wanted more time before voting on it.

"So while we're going to continue to discuss it a little bit more -- we need to make a decision before the preseason begins -- I think the greater likelihood is we will not be guaranteeing a spot to a division winner," he said Wednesday.